I have been in correspondence with an art scholar doing dissertational
research on the monument erected at Rock Creek Cemetery by Henry Adams in
memory of his wife. This is a topic of mutual interest, since I have been
working on an article about Twain's friendship with the sculptor, Augustus
Saint-Gaudens.
My correspondent writes that in several places she has read that it was
Twain who gave the Rock Creek memorial its nickname "Grief," but she has
seen this only in second-hand sources. Twain's visit to Rock Creek Cemetery
appears in Paine, but there is no mention of the word in question. Can
anyone give an original citation attributing this nickname to Twain?
Thanks and regards,
Mary Leah Christmas
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